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this as the president's pick for the cia director heads to capitol hill to defend his record as mastermind of the drone program. plus, republicans pick their guy to respond to the president's state of the union address. we'll explain what it means for the party moving forward. >>> a little later, a big snowstorm expected to dump up to two feet of snow in parts of new england. we'll show you who will be the hardest hit straight ahead. first, let's get to the news live here at 5:30 a.m. eastern time at 30 rock in new york city. we begin with new developments involving the nation's highly secretive drone campaign. members of congress demanding more details into how the administration justifies the targeted killing of american citizens. the white house says president obama has directed the department of justice to brief members of the intelligence committees. the move comes after five groups of 11 senators led by ron widen of oregon demanded insight into the government's legal rational for drone strikes against americans abroad. senator widen took his frustrations to twitter writing, every ame
this as the president's pick for the cia director heads to capitol hill to defend his record as mastermind of the drone program. plus, republicans pick their guy to respond to the president's state of the union address. we'll explain what it means for the party moving forward. >>> a little later, a big snowstorm expected to dump up to two feet of snow in parts of new england. we'll show you who will be the hardest hit straight ahead. first, let's get to the news live here at 5:30 a.m....
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he got off scot-free even though he was at the center of the cia leak scandal. walked from that one. the architect couldn't help a republican majority in the 2006 midterms bring the democrats back to power in both the house and senate for the first time. he blew it all on the table. and in 2012 the sunlight foundation reported that crossroads had a 1%, $1 in $100, return on its election investment. so karl rove failed putting together a republican realignment, failed in holding the house and the white house and the senate, lost all that. got involved in the cia leak case, somehow got through that where scooter did get caught and the president -- actually the vice president should have been caught. that's not a good investment, joy, and yet there he is out there telling the republican party what it's got to do is get rid of the other guys, not him. >> absolutely. i'm glad you played that clip from rush limbaugh because in a lot of ways karl rove and rush limbaugh are very much the same. they're both using the same sort of know-nothing crowd, the people in the hin
he got off scot-free even though he was at the center of the cia leak scandal. walked from that one. the architect couldn't help a republican majority in the 2006 midterms bring the democrats back to power in both the house and senate for the first time. he blew it all on the table. and in 2012 the sunlight foundation reported that crossroads had a 1%, $1 in $100, return on its election investment. so karl rove failed putting together a republican realignment, failed in holding the house and...
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Feb 6, 2013
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john brennan was once the deputy cia director. he is now president obama's counterterrorism director at the white house. but if he is to run the cia for president obama, john brennan is first going to have to face questions on thursday about some of what michael isikoff turned up here on this program last night. a justice department white paper elaborating the administration's reasoning for why it thinks it is legal to kill american citizens on the president's say so. or actually, on the say so of an informed high level official of the u.s. government. so maybe that's the president, but maybe that's somebody else. michael isikoff's scoop ended up at "the new york times" today and "the washington post" and "the hill" and slate and salon and ap to name a few. it was everywhere. and then at a press conference today, the attorney general was asked about it. >> last night nbc reported a white paper that was prepared by the justice department undated, unsigned about the legal -- the legal pinnacles for targeting americans overseas. coul
john brennan was once the deputy cia director. he is now president obama's counterterrorism director at the white house. but if he is to run the cia for president obama, john brennan is first going to have to face questions on thursday about some of what michael isikoff turned up here on this program last night. a justice department white paper elaborating the administration's reasoning for why it thinks it is legal to kill american citizens on the president's say so. or actually, on the say so...
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Feb 6, 2013
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there have been 400 -- more than 400 cia strikes against targets in pakistan and yemen. as we look back over history, that's eight times as many under president bush. now, the drone attacks, they often have collateral damage. they kill civilians. so doesn't that strain the ongoing future relations between the u.s. and countries where these attacks are taking place, because aren't we creating more problems for themselves when a civilian is killed and they dedicate themselves to trying to retaliate. >> i think it's a legitimate concern. the laws of warfare, the four major principles essentially deal with avoiding excessive civilian casualties. so i think there is a requirement for some real diligence and caution in how we carry these out. one of the arguments i heard is we're targeting people we don't really even know their names. for gosh sakes, i crawled around in the mud trying to shoot it out with people 20 feet away in combat and didn't know their names. these are imminent terrorist threats to the united states' security. so again, it's a legitimate debate. we should
there have been 400 -- more than 400 cia strikes against targets in pakistan and yemen. as we look back over history, that's eight times as many under president bush. now, the drone attacks, they often have collateral damage. they kill civilians. so doesn't that strain the ongoing future relations between the u.s. and countries where these attacks are taking place, because aren't we creating more problems for themselves when a civilian is killed and they dedicate themselves to trying to...
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john brennan faces his confirmation hearing to be the head of the cia on thursday this week. he will face questions from senators on the senate intelligence committee who will presumably ask him about his time in the cia of yore under george w. bush and his time as the face of the drone program under president barack obama. one of the senators who sits on the intelligence committee is going to get a chance to question john brennan is oregon democrat ron wyden, who is a bit of a contrarian on the issues. he recently wrote a letter to john brennan asking for answers of his own about targeted killing and why it's justified and how it's justified. the questions themselves are so basic that they are almost more telling than some of the answers they could but probably won't receive. questions like, for example, how much evidence does the president need to determine that a particular american can be lawfully killed? also, this is one that sticks with me, does the president have to provide individual americans with the opportunity to surrender before killing them? sand are there any
john brennan faces his confirmation hearing to be the head of the cia on thursday this week. he will face questions from senators on the senate intelligence committee who will presumably ask him about his time in the cia of yore under george w. bush and his time as the face of the drone program under president barack obama. one of the senators who sits on the intelligence committee is going to get a chance to question john brennan is oregon democrat ron wyden, who is a bit of a contrarian on...
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you ran it in some form, operational aspect of it at the cia. do you run actually less, are you in charge of less of the drone defenpartment at the defe department? >> we're the ones who supply the cia. >> who makes the call? >> it depends on the operation. the best thing i've seen in four years is we really have a very good military intelligence partnership now with regards to going after al qaeda, and there are operations that we've developed in which we developed the targets and then we make the decision who is best able to go after the targets and it's a very synchronized good operation that gives us the best of military information and intelligence. >> the drone wes don't have a big debate in the united states, the new cover of "time" magazine, but retired general mccrystal, here's what he said about drones during this book tour. "what scares me about drone strikes is how they are perceived around the world, the resentment created by american use of unmanned strikes, is much greater than the average american appreciates. they are hated on a
you ran it in some form, operational aspect of it at the cia. do you run actually less, are you in charge of less of the drone defenpartment at the defe department? >> we're the ones who supply the cia. >> who makes the call? >> it depends on the operation. the best thing i've seen in four years is we really have a very good military intelligence partnership now with regards to going after al qaeda, and there are operations that we've developed in which we developed the...
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he's the most experienced person to take over the cia in quite some time. no one should stand in the way of that. >> okay, luke russert there in washington. thanks so much, luke. let's get right to our panel now. from washington karen finney, a columnist with the hill, and michael o'hanlon, senior foreign policy fellows at the brookings institution. welcome to you both. mike, if i can start with you. in addition to the many other responsibilities that you yourself carry, you're also a member of the cia's external advisory board. are you satisfied with john brennan's responses, particularly in relation to the drone program? >> well, you know, martin, i do think we need checks and balances in our system, and i think groping towards the right way to handle a question of whether it be drones or some other kind of use of force, the broader question here is using force in a country where we haven't before or against a person we haven't before, possibly an american citizen when you have got this very broad authorization on the use of force against an enemy that's
he's the most experienced person to take over the cia in quite some time. no one should stand in the way of that. >> okay, luke russert there in washington. thanks so much, luke. let's get right to our panel now. from washington karen finney, a columnist with the hill, and michael o'hanlon, senior foreign policy fellows at the brookings institution. welcome to you both. mike, if i can start with you. in addition to the many other responsibilities that you yourself carry, you're also a...
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. >> whether he should be the next cia director. >> he's determined, he's strong. >> john brennan is going to face questions. >> a lot of questions. >> about the legal justification for using drone strikes. >> drones set to take center stage. >> to kill american citizens. >> these targets are ethical and justified. >> these are not the drones you're looking for. >> republicans are at war with karl rove. bush's brain, as rove used to be known, when rove was thought to still have a brain, is on a mission to crush backcrap crazy republicans so the party will actually nominate more reasonable candidates who have a chance of winning general elections against democrats. today, a republican who writes big checks to karl rove told politico that the republican party, quote, has had too many candidates who are nut cases. i don't think anybody anywhere with any sense is going to want to elect a candidate who says if your daughter gets raped, it's god's will. give me a break, will you? the problem for karl rove is that he and his rich republican friends may be outnumbered by crazy republicans. a
. >> whether he should be the next cia director. >> he's determined, he's strong. >> john brennan is going to face questions. >> a lot of questions. >> about the legal justification for using drone strikes. >> drones set to take center stage. >> to kill american citizens. >> these targets are ethical and justified. >> these are not the drones you're looking for. >> republicans are at war with karl rove. bush's brain, as rove used to be...
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interview on cnn and general mckrystal say -- >> you have been watching the confirmation hearings for cia director nominee john brennan, an explosive day of testimony marked with protests and contentious questioning, a story that will no doubt dominate the headlines for days to come. "hardball" picks things up right now. >>> defending the drones. let's play "hardball." ♪ >>> good evening. i'm michael smerconiummer komer chris matthews. secrets and spies. the man who is at the center of the national debate over the targeted killing of americans overseas has been in the hot seat on capitol hill. among other things john brennan coordinates the kill list and so his confirmation hearing to become head of the cia is drawing an unusual amount of interest and attention. we'll get to what he said and the reaction at the top of the show. >>> also, more and more people on the right are asking, who is karl rove and why should we listen to him anymore? rove wants electable republicans nominated. the tea partiers want their people in. real right wingers and they're trashing rove and establishment rep
interview on cnn and general mckrystal say -- >> you have been watching the confirmation hearings for cia director nominee john brennan, an explosive day of testimony marked with protests and contentious questioning, a story that will no doubt dominate the headlines for days to come. "hardball" picks things up right now. >>> defending the drones. let's play "hardball." ♪ >>> good evening. i'm michael smerconiummer komer chris matthews. secrets and...
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and -- to rein in cia access. >> colonel, this is warfare that americans aren't used to. and they ask questions about what are our constitutional -- what is our leeway here? what is fair game and what is not? and how are these decisions being made? is this just the new wave of warfare that we have to get used to? >> it is, because we have the technology now to do things we haven't done before. but the argument that congress ought to be involved in supervising this is an important one, and we should not ignore it. the congress has a responsibility, not just the authority, but the responsibility to supervise the activities of the executive branch, and in particular, the intelligence committee which takes a look at all the black programs and is kept in the loop on everything certainly has the capability of making an evaluation of what is the right thing to do and is the wrong thing to do, and needs to weigh in. to the extent it doesn't do that, then it's abrogated its responsibilities. >> sam, what is your take on what the hearings are going to be like tomorrow for mr. brenn
and -- to rein in cia access. >> colonel, this is warfare that americans aren't used to. and they ask questions about what are our constitutional -- what is our leeway here? what is fair game and what is not? and how are these decisions being made? is this just the new wave of warfare that we have to get used to? >> it is, because we have the technology now to do things we haven't done before. but the argument that congress ought to be involved in supervising this is an important...
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waterboard and detention made their voices heard at yesterday's confirmation hearing for john brennan as cia director. >> they won't even tell congress what country we are killing children in. >> please -- >> senator feinstein. >> if you could please expedite the removal. >> more important than the children of pakistan and yemen? are they more important? do your job! >> the hearing serve as a public discussion of the most controversial counterterrorism policies that began under president george w. bush and, in part, have continued and expanded under president obama. brennan's defense of the secrecy surrounding the administration's most questionable program, targeted assassinations using drone aircraft, was as opaque as the program itself. >> what we need to do is optimize transparency on these issues, but at the same time optimize secrecy and the protection of our national security. i don't think that it's one or the other. it's trying to optimize both of them. >> some senators, including ron widen and angus king, pushed brennan to explain the legal at and justification for assassinating ame
waterboard and detention made their voices heard at yesterday's confirmation hearing for john brennan as cia director. >> they won't even tell congress what country we are killing children in. >> please -- >> senator feinstein. >> if you could please expedite the removal. >> more important than the children of pakistan and yemen? are they more important? do your job! >> the hearing serve as a public discussion of the most controversial counterterrorism...
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things, john brennan coordinates the kill list, and so his confirmation hearing to become head of the cia is drawing an unusual amount of interest and attention. we'll get to what he said and the reaction at the top of the show. >>> also, more and more people on the right are asking, who is karl rove and why should we listen to him anymore? rove wants electable republicans nominated. the tea partiers want their people in, real right wingers, and they're trashing rove and establishment republicans in the process. >>> plus, you've probably heard that chuck hagel once said the following, quote, the jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here. i'm not an israeli senator. i'm a united states senator. but what you probably haven't heard is the rest of that interview and why some people who know what hagel really said aren't angry with him at all. >>> and why is chris christie talking so much about his weight? maybe because he wants to talk about it on his terms, and why might that be? because perhaps he's running for president. >>> finally, the recently fired dick morris admits he was wron
things, john brennan coordinates the kill list, and so his confirmation hearing to become head of the cia is drawing an unusual amount of interest and attention. we'll get to what he said and the reaction at the top of the show. >>> also, more and more people on the right are asking, who is karl rove and why should we listen to him anymore? rove wants electable republicans nominated. the tea partiers want their people in, real right wingers, and they're trashing rove and establishment...
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you know, the cia tried many times to kill fidel castro. it was just unsuccessful at it. >> well that's -- >> i'm a realist. >> kill him, i'm not sure. but i can't deny it. i know they tried to defoliate him with his beard. i know they tried to give him hallucinogens. >> the poison cigar i think was meant to kill him, but the point being that i don't want any single individual, and, you know, i'm a supporter of president obama's, but i don't want any single individual, not george w. bush, not barack obama, to have the authority to say we're going to kill these people. and nor do i want it to be obama and a group of people over whom he has authority. i don't want it to be people in the military who answer to him. i want it to be people of an outside branch of government who feel the independence to disagree with the president. >> well said. i think yesterday john brennan was grilled about various aspects of this program, including the rights of americans who might be on the kill list. take a look at how he answered a question on that from se
you know, the cia tried many times to kill fidel castro. it was just unsuccessful at it. >> well that's -- >> i'm a realist. >> kill him, i'm not sure. but i can't deny it. i know they tried to defoliate him with his beard. i know they tried to give him hallucinogens. >> the poison cigar i think was meant to kill him, but the point being that i don't want any single individual, and, you know, i'm a supporter of president obama's, but i don't want any single individual,...
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is it the army, the cia, is it the attorney general? >> a lot of recent reporting has shown it's actually barack obama himself -- >> through the nsc. >> he is the informed high-level official -- >> does he have to give an official finding? does he have to have a finding? does he have to -- >> there's a finding that supports the policy, but i don't know that he needs -- >> does he have fingerprints when he makes one of these decisions like -- >> not public ones. in fact, they won't discuss the public -- deliberations at all. listen, until last year they wouldn't acknowledge the drone policy existed. >> can you tell from your reporting if there's any conflict of conscience within the administration or they agree we need to do this in the war we're in now? >> look at panetta's comments to chuck todd the other day on "meet the press" in which he said making these decisions about who should die and who should not, who should get targeted, were really tough ones and he agonized about that. that ought to give you a clue these are not all open
is it the army, the cia, is it the attorney general? >> a lot of recent reporting has shown it's actually barack obama himself -- >> through the nsc. >> he is the informed high-level official -- >> does he have to give an official finding? does he have to have a finding? does he have to -- >> there's a finding that supports the policy, but i don't know that he needs -- >> does he have fingerprints when he makes one of these decisions like -- >> not...
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counterterrorism adviser john brennan heads to capitol hill for his confirmation hearing to take over the cia, the white house has to answer some tough questions about its overseas drone program. the catalyst is a leaked white house memo obtained by nbc's michael isikoff that justifies in certain cases attacks on american citizens abroad. the white house has forced strong criticisms from advocates over the drone policy. ron wyden tweeted today every american has the right to know when the government believes it is allowed to kill them. what's surprising people is how much most americans seem to casually accept this as the cost of doing business in a dangerous world. eugene robbins is a columnist and david corn is from mother jones. both are msnbc political analysts. let's take a look here at ed carney, the president's spokesman, talk about this. it was a briefing today and carney defended the president's position on drones but also faced some tough questions. let's listen. >> i won't talk about specific instances, but the fact is that the methods that we use are designed specifically to avoid
counterterrorism adviser john brennan heads to capitol hill for his confirmation hearing to take over the cia, the white house has to answer some tough questions about its overseas drone program. the catalyst is a leaked white house memo obtained by nbc's michael isikoff that justifies in certain cases attacks on american citizens abroad. the white house has forced strong criticisms from advocates over the drone policy. ron wyden tweeted today every american has the right to know when the...
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away for the president and it was particularly interesting timing given that today his nominee for the cia is going to have his confirmation hearing, and, quite frankly, there was a growing bipartisan call in the senate in congress for the white house to finally acknowledge this program and provide the legal basis for the targeting killings by drones. this has been something that has been -- they've been under pressure for years to acknowledge and to provide more guidance on to congress and just to the public at large, and, quite frankly, this hearing today, you know, john brennan wasn't going to be able to escape questions, and it probably would have been very difficult for him, still will be difficult, but you have both democrats and republicans in congress openly contemplating the idea that they may not even confirm john brennan. so this was really the white house being pushed to the brink here and having to finally move forward with what little bit of what congress wants. >> we heard ron wyden say this is a step. nia-malika your paper argues this should be released. yet 83% of american
away for the president and it was particularly interesting timing given that today his nominee for the cia is going to have his confirmation hearing, and, quite frankly, there was a growing bipartisan call in the senate in congress for the white house to finally acknowledge this program and provide the legal basis for the targeting killings by drones. this has been something that has been -- they've been under pressure for years to acknowledge and to provide more guidance on to congress and...
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his four years in office, the president has made unprecedented use of this weapon, with more than 400 cia strikes against targets in pakistan and yemen. that's eight times as many as under president george w. bush. and now nbc news's michael isikoff has obtained a 16-page justice department memo that makes the legal argument to justify this administration's use of drones to kill terror suspects, including american citizens. the government can order the killing of its own citizens without due process if those citizens are believed to be senior operational leaders of al qaeda or an associated force, even if there is no intel indicating they are involved in an active plot to attack the united states. today attorney general eric holder addressed the issue. >> we only take these kinds of actions when there is an imminent threat, when capture is not feasible, and when we are confident we are doing so in a way that is consistent with federal and international law. >> yet, according to the memo, the government gets to define the word "imminent" in a very broad way. the condition that an operation
his four years in office, the president has made unprecedented use of this weapon, with more than 400 cia strikes against targets in pakistan and yemen. that's eight times as many as under president george w. bush. and now nbc news's michael isikoff has obtained a 16-page justice department memo that makes the legal argument to justify this administration's use of drones to kill terror suspects, including american citizens. the government can order the killing of its own citizens without due...
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that could be the cia director. could be john brennan who has been the architect of the drone campaign. >> that's very subjective. >> but clearly there's a lot of latitude there for people who to make decisions about who they want to go -- which american citizens they want to go after and which they don't. >> talking about stretching the actual framework of american law and the constitution. that's going to spark a hearty debate, i imagine, when john brennan meets his conversation. mike isikoff, i have a feeling you'll have a very busy day having to explain on air what you did off air last night in breaking that story. thank you, sir. >> thank you. >>> up next, a republican party at a crossroads. get it? grand old problem. is party purity more important than winning elections. we have one of the men running karl rove's new push to push candidates who can win. >>> first, a look ahead at today's politics planner. as you can see, the vice president is in the uk today meeting with prime minister cameron, among others. n
that could be the cia director. could be john brennan who has been the architect of the drone campaign. >> that's very subjective. >> but clearly there's a lot of latitude there for people who to make decisions about who they want to go -- which american citizens they want to go after and which they don't. >> talking about stretching the actual framework of american law and the constitution. that's going to spark a hearty debate, i imagine, when john brennan meets his...
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>> you know, i think a frustration was built around mostly the cia and the really hostile relationship between congress and the agency over the years and what lawmakers feel is the agency's failure to brief them adequately on a lot of secret operation that is are happening overseas. i think brennan is generally safe. he did perform satisfactory according to a lot of these -- the key democrats an some of the republicans on the panel and will get confirmed. i think that will happen in the next couple of weeks but look for the issue of the drone strikes and whether or not there needs to be more oversight to become a hot issue in the next weeks. >> senator bob menendez, he says this is nonsense, a set-up, if you will. smoke and mirrors by conservative bloggers and such and supporters feel the same way. we heard his first comments an we played on this investigation. >> he's trying to make this all about a smear campaign from a small group of people. but the real problem for bob menendez is there have been reports that have surfaced showing he's taken action it appears on behalf of this mega
>> you know, i think a frustration was built around mostly the cia and the really hostile relationship between congress and the agency over the years and what lawmakers feel is the agency's failure to brief them adequately on a lot of secret operation that is are happening overseas. i think brennan is generally safe. he did perform satisfactory according to a lot of these -- the key democrats an some of the republicans on the panel and will get confirmed. i think that will happen in the...
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qaeda training camps all over the world would be pleased with the fact that sequestration would gut the cia. >> republican armed services ranking member jim inhoff agrees it would be dire but not as dire as breaking the pledge to grover norquist. >> it's in the desperate enough that you can start raising taxes. >> obstacle to the republican republicans -- same as it ever was, their absolute refusal to agreeing to even a dollar of new tax revenue. they believe they can shift the blame this time to president obama. today, speaker boehner's office was sending around "call obama sequester's bluff." republicans should continue to refuse to make any concessions or compromise with the white house, he says, even write iing script for them. we are quite prepared to cut elsewhere but we already raised taxes last month. if the presses wants to avoid the sequester as we do, he must offer a substitute set of cuts. otherwise, mr. president, there is nothing to discuss. your sequester, republicans need to reiterate the sequester was the president's idea in the first place, will go ahead. the sequester was
qaeda training camps all over the world would be pleased with the fact that sequestration would gut the cia. >> republican armed services ranking member jim inhoff agrees it would be dire but not as dire as breaking the pledge to grover norquist. >> it's in the desperate enough that you can start raising taxes. >> obstacle to the republican republicans -- same as it ever was, their absolute refusal to agreeing to even a dollar of new tax revenue. they believe they can shift...
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intelligence vet and his nominee for cia director. brennan was up for the same job in 2008, but his ties to coercive interrogation methods used under the bush administration forced him to withdraw his name. now brennan serves as a close adviser to president obama, overseeing one of the most controversial war-related programs. >> the united states is the first nation to regularly conduct strikes using remotely-piloted aircraft in an armed conflict. these targeted strikes against al qaeda terrorists are indeed ethical and just. >> reporter: after a failed attempt to kill bin laden in 1998, the u.s. government took decisive action to protect the homeland. three years later, the first successful predator drone strike killed a top al qaeda commander in afghanistan. and now that program is the white house's primary tool against terror. >> john developed and has overseen our comprehensive counterterrorism strategy, a collaborative effort across the government including intelligence and defense and homeland security and law enforcement agenci
intelligence vet and his nominee for cia director. brennan was up for the same job in 2008, but his ties to coercive interrogation methods used under the bush administration forced him to withdraw his name. now brennan serves as a close adviser to president obama, overseeing one of the most controversial war-related programs. >> the united states is the first nation to regularly conduct strikes using remotely-piloted aircraft in an armed conflict. these targeted strikes against al qaeda...
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vicki duval, former general council on intelligence committee and former deputy legal adviser to the cia's counterterrorism center and kevin williamson, deputy manager of the national review. thanks so much for both of you being here. reality check here. >> polls show most americans have very little problem using drones against citizens turned terrorists. here it is right here. 79% of people approve using drones against americans overseas who are suspected of plotting terrorist attacks. what does this is a about us, kevin? >> well, it says that voters aren't to be trusted, but we knew that already. you can put the word terrorist in front of anything and scare the crap out of people and they say yes, let's launch rockets at them even if they're citizens. if i said drone strikes against bloggers. anwar al awlaki, he was the bin laden of the internet, which was a different thing from being the bin laden of the real world. he was the guy that wrote things and published things and said things in favor of al qaeda, and he was never a guy that took up arms and never planted a bomb or anything lik
vicki duval, former general council on intelligence committee and former deputy legal adviser to the cia's counterterrorism center and kevin williamson, deputy manager of the national review. thanks so much for both of you being here. reality check here. >> polls show most americans have very little problem using drones against citizens turned terrorists. here it is right here. 79% of people approve using drones against americans overseas who are suspected of plotting terrorist attacks....